Sunlight
by Rainbow Daydreamer
Summary: Sora remembers a time she said something to Bi she didn't mean. Can anything make it right? Bit of Sorato later on but it's really about the link between a kid and her Digimon. At last completed! Mission accomplished, and how!
1. Prologue: Sunrise

***Sunlight***  
  
NB: This has nothing to do with the DJ Sammy song. My timescale probably out of whack too. I just set this in the Myotismon era 'cos he makes the best villain. Am I the only one who also thinks that Demidevimon's too sweet to be Dark? He's got an imp of mischief. Come to that, he is an imp of mischief. What? Oh, yes, thanks Bi. I DON'T OWN DIGIMON.  
  
...  
  
Bi: Any fanfic tonight Daydream?  
  
Daydreamer: Nope. I'm going out.  
  
Bi: Not that I care. It's all been the same lately. I bet you couldn't write about another character if you tried.  
  
Daydreamer: [indignant; kicks off high heels] Yes I could! Try me.  
  
Bi: OK. How 'bout Sora?  
  
Daydreamer: Sora it is. [Sits down, suddenly groans] Oh, shucks! I've been out manouvred.  
  
Bi: Mm-hm. [Relents] OK, 'he' can be in it. But not as the central character. [waits for positive reaction] Can I be in it too?  
  
Daydreamer [pauses, then grins] Absolutamente. And even though you've been so devious I'll put you in a good light.  
  
...........  
  
This one goes out to the ones I love. And I don't own that line either.  
  
..........  
  
PROLOGUE: Sunrise   
  
There's sunlight on my skin. I can tell it's going to be a beautiful day even without opening my eyes. To be honest, I don't think I want to. It's nicer just to be here, my bare arms pressed against the grass and a gentle breeze ruffling my hair.  
  
Somehow I can't quite remember where I am. Or how I got here. Perhaps I should TRY to. I concentrate a little harder, and images float into my mind, bright like the fragments of a broken mirror. A name. My name? Don't know. Drift back. A pretty little bird, pink wings and huge sparkling eyes. Her squeaking voice and pretty red beak. I get the feeling she was a very important part of my life. Before... before something.  
  
I feel so wonderful just lying here. It's like all my senses have been sharpened and a huge surge of energy is flowing through my veins. I'm strong. I can lie here forever and not get sunburnt, I could run a thousand miles and not be tired.   
  
There was a boy. A boy I...like. Or is it 'liked'? Has something happened to him? Where did that thought come from? No, it must just be that I'm uncertain of my own feelings. I let his face swim into my mind and am uncertain no more. My heart does a crazy, mixed-up flip at the thought.  
  
And others. A group of children, on an important quest. People I feel close to. Things I've done. Things I've seen. Or at least, things I think I've seen.  
  
And even with my newfound love for the world, a feeling that it all went terribly, terribly wrong.  
  
.......  
  
This is just the prologue! More later!  
  
......  
  
Bi: I'll get the drinks, shall I?  
  
Daydreamer: You'd better, miss pink-wings. 


	2. Hate

Sunlight:   
  
Daydreamer: [sips drink] Gosh, I needed that.  
  
Bi: Keep talking!  
  
Daydreamer: What was I thinking? This is better than disco.  
  
.........  
  
Part 1: Hate (that is, the first part after the prologue)  
  
The battle was over. The enemy Digimon had been critically hit after a long struggle with several Ultimate monsters. It let out a shriek of frustration as it collapsed, then dissolved into a million shimmering points of light that glittered and disappeared.  
  
"I feel kind of sick," murmured Sora Takenouchi. Dropping two levels in an instant, her own close companion fluttered over and nuzzled her ear with a small, comforting beak. Sora gave Bi a gentle stroke across her wings.  
  
"Sora," said Izzy soothingly, "You should know by now that Digimon don't die the way we do, not really. It's more like they go into a sort of limbo. It could be months, years, decades- even centuries- but they will be recreated as Digieggs, ready to start again."  
  
"And more to the point," interrupted Tai, "it was him or us. And we DO die properly."  
  
"Yeah," said Joe with a glance behind him, "let's hit the road before this guy's big brothers turn up."  
  
So the Digidestined began walking again. Tai in the lead, striding ahead as always. Matt wandering behind him, hands in pockets, giving nothing away. Then Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, and finally TK running to keep up with Matt. Seven kids, seven Digimon, an unbreakable team.  
  
Sora started to lag behind a little. "Hey, come on!" yelled Tai. "We haven't got all day."  
  
"Tai," began Sora. "You know when I said just now that I felt sick?" He nodded. "Well, I...I..."  
  
The others gasped in horror as Sora suddenly collapsed at their feet.  
  
"Sora?"  
  
She was drifting, her head aching like nothing she had ever felt before. Her heart was beating faster and faster. Why were all these crazy colours flashing in front of her eyes? Why wouldn't everyone just leave her alone?  
  
"Sora?"  
  
"Come on, Sora kid, don't let go..."  
  
That had to be it. It was their fault, the cruel people who kept tugging her back, calling her name. If it wasn't for them she could escape.  
  
"Sora? Wake up... it's going to be all right..."  
  
Her temper exploded like the lights before her vision.  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE! Go AWAY!"  
  
"All right, Sora. I'll be back..."  
  
"No!" she shrieked at the top of her voice. "I don't ever want to see you again. You're getting in my way!"  
  
"Sora, what are you saying?"  
  
"I HATE you! Leave me be!"  
  
And then, not knowing why, she cried herself to eventual sleep, safe at last from the chaos. Peace.  
  
"Sora!"  
  
The air was cool and still, the light was faint and silver. Her breathing became smooth, the panic gone. She shivered once, then lifted herself up to see where she'd got to.  
  
"Sora." Matt's voice. "You OK?"  
  
"I knew she'd be all right." Tai. "She's a tough kid."  
  
Where was she? It looked like some sort of cave. Tai- or, more probably, Agumon- had lit a fire, and the Digidestined were sitting around it, their faces lit by the warm glow. It was dark outside.  
  
"What happened to the lights?" she whispered. Her head no longer hurt, but she felt- fragile. Most of her friends looked puzzled.  
  
"I think I get it," said Joe. "Sora, you got a Digital bug of sorts. Think of it as a computer virus, if you like. You've been very ill."  
  
"Your immune system just wasn't ready for anything like that," put in Izzy.   
  
"It knocked you for six," translated Matt.  
  
"What was I doing? I thought I was trying to.. escape."  
  
"I think you were," replied Tai. "You were struggling all the time we brought you in here. And I've never heard you shout like that, Sora. No wonder Biyomon went-"  
  
"Went what?" repeated Sora, while Tai bit his lip. "Where did she go?"  
  
The note was lying in the dust outside the cave shelter. It was scratchy and smudged, but readable.  
  
Sora-   
  
I'm sorry it's ended like this, but I've found a new partner and a new place to be. You made your feelings clear and I don't want to hurt you. Enjoy yourself and I hope another Digimon comes your way. Love you.   
  
-Bi  
  
"Bi? BIYOMON!"  
  
Sora's scream was swept away by the swirling wind over the sand.  
  
-  
  
*These memories hurt. This is how a friendship ends, not with happiness but with heartbreak and misunderstanding. But still I must dig deeper.  
  
......  
  
End of Part I  
  
......  
  
Anyone can criticise but it takes someone special to encourage. Jksfaerie, Chikin Wang and Eliza Evenstar, may you never break an umbrella spoke. 


	3. Love

***Sunlight,   
  
Part II: Love***  
  
Bi: Daydreamer!  
  
Daydreamer: Sorry... I nodded off for a moment.  
  
Bi: A moment! [pulls out two glasses of lemonade]  
  
Daydreamer: Well, OK, maybe five minutes. Are you that desperate for the next chapter?  
  
Bi: [smugly] It takes five minutes to bake ginger biscuits?  
  
Daydreamer: Bi, you angel. Here goes.  
  
..............................  
  
Such dark nights. Such darker days.  
  
Sora wandered the Digital landscape from dawn until dusk, hoping against hope that she would find the little bird so close to her heart.   
  
-Bi, come back, I didn't mean it, you know I didn't-  
  
Then night fell and she knew she had to come back before the others came looking for her. She'd go in and sit by the fire, saying nothing.  
  
Mimi comforted her, of course. They'd always been good friends. Tai too. But, as time went on, Sora found help in someone rather unexpected, although it was someone she'd known for most of her life. Matt.  
  
Without having to hear him say it, Sora felt that her fair-haired friend understood what she was going through. He helped her look for Biyomon whenever he could. He even let her play his harmonica when she told him the music made her feel better. In a few days they had formed an unbreakable friendship.  
  
But there was still a feeling of loss in her mind that couldn't be replaced or forgotten.  
  
"Sora, it's not your fault," they told her. So she slept, and woke, and walked, and tired, and slept. It didn't mean anything without Bi.  
  
[[Daydreamer: Sorry if I'm over-emphasising this. I just tried to think how I'd feel if I'd just lost my best friend...]]  
  
Until one morning she woke, and the cave was empty. The fire still glowed with orange heat but there was nothing to be heard. Then, just as she started to panic, the sound of footsteps.   
  
-I wouldn't like them to think they woke me-  
  
She turned over and pretended to be still asleep. Through half-closed eyelids she saw her friends enter the little shelter, their Digimon following close behind.  
  
"Well, I still think she ought to know." Matt's voice startled her.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Tai. "We can't. Not at the moment. It's better for her not to find out. That sort of news would just make her worse."  
  
Mimi's voice. "I agree. I can't think what would happen."  
  
Joe. "But she's got to know sooner or later... I'm with Matt on this one."  
  
Tai. "Well, we'll decide when she wakes up. Let's go and find something edible. Oh- will someone look after Sora?"  
  
The footsteps faded. She breathed out, wondering what they had had on their minds. To do with her.   
  
Suddenly a voice spoke somewhere by the cave entrance. "Sora, best friends can fake sleep too." Her eyes snapped open. Matt was leaning against the wall, hands in pockets.  
  
"OK, Matt," she said. "What's going on? Why is everyone being so..."  
  
He paused. "We found out what happened to Bi," he managed.  
  
-Oh, no! Is she-  
  
"Is she...all right?"  
  
-What if she's dead? I couldn't-  
  
"She's alive," said Matt, seemingly reading her mind. "But..."  
  
  
  
She grabbed his arm, refusing to let go. "But WHAT?"  
  
"Listen, Sora..."  
  
*flashback*  
  
Biyomon was too tired to fly any more. She made her way across the rocky sand, half walking, half fluttering, her wingtips brushing the ground.   
  
-I shouldn't have left. Even to make Sora happy. And that lie about a new partner... Only wish it was true.-  
  
She decided she'd have to find somewhere to sleep soon. It was getting very dark. VERY dark... What was that in the shadows?  
  
Bi jumped back and spread her wings defensively. "Who's that? I warn you, I can fight!"  
  
"What's a pretty little bird like you doing in a place like this?" The voice was harsh but squeaky. Bi squinted into the night and saw wings, the wings of a bat. Someone she'd met before. Demidevimon....?  
  
*end flashback*  
  
"She went off... with..."  
  
Sora was in tears again at the thought. Matt had his hand on her shoulder. He'd tried his best, but there were times when the best was not enough.   
  
Time can pass strangely in the Digital world. When the others returned it was evening. Matt sat by the fire with Gabumon, watching over Sora. She'd cried herself to sleep.  
  
"Perhaps it's time we got some rest too," remarked Joe. "Especially you, TK. What would your mother say?" TK made a face, but in time the DigiDestined had all settled down to join Sora in her world of dreams.  
  
It was midnight. There was no sound except for the soft breathing of seven humans and six Digimon, curled up in the pitch darkness.   
  
So when Sora woke with a start, she wondered why. Perhaps she'd just had enough sleep for one night. With a sigh, she sat up and put on her lucky hat.  
  
-Some luck.-  
  
She wandered out of the cave, stepping carefully over her sleeping friends, and into the clearing by its entrance. The stars were sparkling a long way above her head.   
  
"I wish..."  
  
Oh, but that sort of thing was stupid. Without finishing the sentence she looked down again and kicked a pebble that lay at her feet. Suddenly she froze as she heard a squeak from the darkness. Was it...?  
  
-No. It isn't.-  
  
It was another small creature, though, hardly tall enough to see higher than Sora's knees. It walked towards her awkwardly, lopsidedly, and she instantly felt sorry for it. Stooping down, she lifted it up in both hands.  
  
As she raised the little Digimon to the level of her face, it let out a gasp and seemed to be staring at her crest. "That crest..." it whispered hoarsely. "That hair... Lift me up..." She did as it asked, taking care not to make it tilt in her palms. "The hat! I don't believe it!"  
  
The creature gazed in respect and wonder.  
  
"Sora Takenouchi!"  
  
..........  
  
Daydreamer: I'd better stop, I think. Bi? Are you OK?  
  
Bi: [not looking] Of course I'm... OK... I just thought I'd...finish the biscuits.  
  
Daydreamer: Ah, come here, you soft-hearted little bird.  
  
.......  
  
Anyone can listen to a secret but it takes someone special to keep it. I belatedly dedicate this story to Elle787. 


	4. Truth

***Sunlight***  
  
Part III: Truth  
  
NB: 1) I forgot this in the last two parts. I don't own Digimon. What? Oh. I do own ONE cute little Digimon, but that's only 'cos she wants to stay with me for now.  
  
2) This bit and especially the next switch viewpoint a bit, through flashbacks and general confusion. Try to stay with me, people and creatures.  
  
3) Thanks to a reviewer who's got me in a dilemma over whether I should 'credit' the same person twice.  
  
....  
  
Daydreamer: OK. If you're all right now...  
  
Bi: Give it your best shot.  
  
..........  
  
There's tears running down my cheeks. Bi... Oh, Bi! And I feel there's worse to come. But I must remember. It's the only way to unlock the secrets of my mind.  
  
-  
  
Sora had carried the tiny Digimon into the cave. She poked at the dying embers of the fire until it flared into life, and found a bottle of water by Joe's side. With a sigh she looked out at the landscape. It had turned cold that night. "I wouldn't send Demidevimon out on a night like this," she mused. Then she poured out water into the lid of the bottle and placed it in front of her visitor.  
  
"You're just like she said," whispered the little one, lapping the water like a puppy.  
  
"Like WHO said?" Sora was suddenly wide awake, alert.  
  
"The pink bird. What was her name... Biyomon..."  
  
*flashback**  
  
"Shh now. You're all right."  
  
He opened his eyes, squinting at the little light there was. His tail hurt...a lot. But there was a bird looking down on him, sympathy in her huge black eyes. Oh, yes. Now he remembered. She was the new worker Digimon here, Biyomon.  
  
She had bandaged his tail. "Don't say a word," she whispered. "Neither of us are meant to be here. Can you walk?"  
  
He nodded, getting to his feet. He remembered now. Bi was the Digimon lured here by Demidevimon. But everyone knew her as the pretty bird who sang as she worked, and told the little Digimon stories about a wonderful human called Sora Takenouchi.   
  
He'd been sent on a mission. A lot of them had. It had been important; they'd depended on him. And he'd failed. They'd taken him back to the headquarters.  
  
The throneroom. His master raising a talon without a word. Eyes jammed shut not to see the flash of light... Then a flutter of wings. Biyomon flying across the room, snatching him up by one dangling paw. A jet of light catching his tail. Unable to think clearly...darkness.  
  
Bi was talking to him now. "Listen... There's a gap in the wall just about there." She gestured with one wing. "It's tiny, but YOU'RE tiny. You can scoot, quick, before he finds where I've taken you. 'Cos I think we were lucky back there, and I don't know if it'll happen again. So go."  
  
"What...I mean, what'll you..."  
  
"I'll sort something out. See you sometime. Go!"  
  
He couldn't fight her. He clambered through the gap and out into the open air of the night.  
  
As he ran, he thought he heard noise behind him. Some kind of a fight.  
  
-Oh, no!-  
  
He turned, but the sounds had faded already.  
  
-Thanks, Bi...-  
  
*end flashback*  
  
Sora had gone outside again. After all, the others had probably had enough of her crying.  
  
The little Digimon said nothing. He understood what was in her mind, or at least, the part he could guess.  
  
Suddenly she sat bolt upright. "When was it that you ran away?"  
  
"Yesterday," he said. "In the early morning."  
  
"I don't mean to give myself false hope...but Myotismon's always been a drama-lover..."  
  
She looked into his eyes. "Bi could still be all right!"  
  
A few minutes later, everything was quiet once more. No sign was to be seen that anything had happened, excepting the scuffed sand by the cave entrance and a few scratches made hurriedly in the dust.  
  
GONE TO SAVE BI- NO TIME TO WAKE YOU  
  
TRY TO CATCH ME UP  
  
SORA  
  
....................  
  
Daydreamer: How am I doing?  
  
Bi [looks out of window] Do you realise it's ten o'clock at night?  
  
Daydreamer [mock firmly] Little birds should be asleep.  
  
Bi: Don't do that to me, Dream. [Laughs] At least I'm not in tears now.  
  
Daydreamer [ominously] You might be.  
  
Bi: But it's got to work out right.  
  
Daydreamer: You know me, Bi. 


	5. Faith

***Sunlight***  
  
Part IV: Faith  
  
........  
  
NB: 1) I still don't own Digimon. I don't own anything. I'm a teenager, a British teenager, a trusting and un-enterpreneurish British teenager!  
  
2) This is the chapter that pushed the rating, due to some slightly distressing bits. But you know me, it'll work out right, I promise. And it may not be what you first think, unless you're smarter than Izzy in his final university year. Or Elle787.  
  
.....  
  
Daydreamer: Wow. This is getting to be hard work. Pass the lemonade.  
  
Bi: I've drunk the lot.  
  
Daydreamer [sighs] No wonder you're so giggly. I might have known.  
  
Bi: I thought I'd need it when you said I might be upset later.  
  
Daydreamer: Fine. But it's coffee from now on.  
  
Bi: Well, at least I'll stay awake.  
  
...............  
  
The air is cooler now. Perhaps it'll be evening soon. I lie and reflect on the memories in my mind.  
  
Where are they now, Bi, the kids, everyone? Maybe they've gone somewhere without me, like they did before. But wouldn't she stay with me? Assuming- oh, no, please, no- assuming I found her in time.  
  
But if I didn't, surely HE would have stayed. To take care of me.  
  
Perhaps I got lost and fell asleep? Like Bi?  
  
Only one way to find out.  
  
-  
  
Sora was running, faster than she had ever thought she could. The wind flicked her hair backwards as she sprinted across the rocky ground in her bare feet. Her shoes were in the cave where she'd taken them off last night. Oh well, it didn't matter. Nothing else mattered at all.  
  
"I can't-" The small Digimon was talking to her. "I can't go any further. I'm too scared." Sora nodded and put him down by her side.   
  
"OK. You can go tell the others to follow me. I'll need some support." He smiled weakly and started to run in the opposite direction.  
  
-  
  
*biyomon*  
  
Bi knew the trouble she was in. How could she not? This was the chance she'd taken. She just wished she could do that thing Izzy did with his downloaded pop songs, press a button and everything speeded up, it would be finished.   
  
-Don't think like that, Bi!-  
  
-How else is there to think?-  
  
Sitting here wasn't doing any good. Just waiting for the inevitable.  
  
She'd tired herself out shooting Spiral Twisters at Myotismon's hench-Digimon. Not that it would have helped if she could attack any more. She'd need to digivolve to beat them, and even if she'd had the energy she needed Sora.  
  
Sora. Where was she? What was she doing now? A tear formed in Bi's eyes.  
  
-If I hadn't been so intent on letting Sora have her way...I wouldn't be here without a chance of being rescued...-  
  
Oh, Sora.   
  
-  
  
*Sora*  
  
She had clambered, somehow, onto the roof without being seen. There was a skylight that opened, just a tiny way... She listened to see whether it was safe. No! She could hear Myotismon down there...  
  
*neither, really*  
  
Myotismon sat in his chair, Demidevimon at his side like a film villain's purring cat. He regarded the little bird coldly as her image appeared on a huge windowlike screen. Bi was locked in a room of mirrors; if she tried to attack, she'd be confused by millions of her own reflections.  
  
"Lord Myotismon?" ventured Demidevimon cautiously. "This Digimon could still be useful if you gave her a chance."  
  
"I GAVE her a chance," snapped his master. "She had been working for them and I still let her prove herself here. But no." He snapped his fingers. "Sadly I don't have time to enjoy myself." With a nod to his guards, "Deconfigure that bird."  
  
"NO!" screamed Sora.  
  
"What is it? What's going on?"  
  
"The kids! They're here!" squawked Demidevimon in panic. "Evacuate!"  
  
Myotismon growled. He extended one wing and let out a jet of dazzling red light. Then he vanished in a flutter of batlike darkness.  
  
The jet of light had just missed hitting Bi directly. It flashed against mirror after mirror, bouncing away in new directions.  
  
Sora ran into the mirrored room. "Bi! Come on, let's get outta here!"  
  
Then she saw. Biyomon's wing was linked to a metal chain.  
  
She struggled with it desperately, tugging, pulling, trying to break it.  
  
"Sora? What are you doing here?"  
  
  
  
Sora looked at her Digimon. She couldn't break the chain. The light flashed past her eyes. She couldn't break the chain. Bi was in danger. She couldn't break the chain. What sort of Digidestined was she really?  
  
She couldn't break the chain.  
  
What else was there to do when she'd tried and failed?  
  
"Love you-"  
  
The light jet made one final arc.  
  
And a few moments later, the sole survivor looked up from her huddled position in the wreckage of the mirrored room.  
  
There was a weird kind of calm in her mind, the eye of the storm. Where was the Crest of Love? It must have got lost somehow in the chaos. There. She snatched it up and clutched it tight, never to let go.  
  
She looked out through a gap in the wall. Sometime between her arrival and now it had started to rain. Would the others be there? She took a deep breath. "Tai?" she shouted hoarsely. "Matt? Izzy? Anybody?"  
  
Thank goodness, at last footsteps.  
  
-Too late for us.-  
  
She sat down next to the one who'd been her best friend. Gently she stroked her head, with the soft sweep of skin against feather that she'd come to know so well. Then she heard Tai's voice calling and knew she was safe. Only then did she let herself cry for the sweet and gentle partner who'd been loyal to the very last.  
  
.......  
  
Bi: [wails]  
  
Daydreamer: I feel a bit like that myself...how am I gonna get the Epilogue sent out to anyone? I'm on holiday for a week! Nice cottage in Kent but NO computer access!  
  
Bi: [sniffs] You were right about it being upsetting.  
  
Daydreamer: Shh, birdy baby. I'll go and buy some more lemonade. 


	6. Epilogue: Sunset

***Sunlight***  
  
EPILOGUE: Sunset  
  
NB: 1) For the last time! I don't own Digimon!  
  
2) Sorry to go so fast and not pause to get reviewed! But must go. (See my remark to Bi in the previous chapter.) I have HALF AN HOUR to get this show on the road. Your mission, should you choose to accept it...  
  
Daydreamer: Lemonade! Biscuits! Chewing gum! Happy ending!  
  
Bi: Really?  
  
Daydreamer: Which one?  
  
.................  
  
Oh, Bi...My Bi... Such terrible memories. And after all that sadness I'm no closer to knowing why I'm here. Perhaps I'll just give up...  
  
I sit up and open my eyes. I'm in the middle of a wide, open space bathed in evening sunlihgt. Perhaps I can forget my unhappiness. It's actually quite beautiful.  
  
Somewhere in the back of my mind is the idea that someone's described this place to me once. Who? Not Matt. Or Tai. Possibly Izzy? I don't know.  
  
I remember a dream I was having. Tai and all the rest, hands linked. Then TK holding...someone else's hand, I can't remember whose, and then... A spiky-haired kid wearing what looked like Tai's goggles. A girl in a flying helmet. A smallish child with dark hair. A tall blue-haired young man...Then it all becomes a blur. And voices calling my name. Like they did so long ago.  
  
My sharp hearing picks up a noise on the breeze. Footsteps.  
  
It's them! And they're coming this way!  
  
But a couple of things aren't right. I'll work it out in a minute... Right now I'm just so glad to see the six of them.  
  
Six?  
  
Or seven?  
  
There's ANOTHER. Walking by Tai's side. And... Where's Matt? He ought to be where...the new one is. My eyes trail over them. Tai, the new one, Izzy, Mimi, TK, Joe... and there's Matt. He's walking a long way behind the others, carrying something. To be honest, he looks a bit scruffy...that's it. They must have been on an adventure while I was sleeping here.  
  
I can see them, but they can't see me. I wait for them to come closer. Tai and Joe are leading the way now, with the new one following. It's a girl- and she's tiny! Oh, now I remember...Tai's sister??? Oh well, I wonder where they found her?  
  
"I think we should make camp," Tai is saying. "Give us some time to chill out... all of us." He looks at Joe strangely when he says it.  
  
"Look, he may not be talkative," retorts Joe, "but he's a good fighter. That's all that matters for now, isn't it? He fought Myotismon like I don't know what."  
  
"He fought Myotismon like he didn't care, that's what," Tai snaps darkly. "I'm telling you, we need to stop before something happens." He turns to his sister. There's a Digimon running beside her; I can't quite see it though. "Kari, can you..."  
  
They ought to be in earshot by now. I start yelling. "TAI! MATT! ..KARI?"  
  
Tai looks up. He freezes for a moment. Then he grabs the whistle at Kari's neck and blows it for all he's worth.  
  
-----  
  
*later*  
  
It's late evening now. The stars are coming out.  
  
I hear footsteps. It's Matt. He's come to talk to me. I feel I should say something...  
  
"Weirdest half-hour I've ever had, huh Matt?" He nods. "I mean, I think now I get why Mimi fainted like that, but I've never seen Izzy in tears before!"  
  
He is silent for a moment. "I don't understand, Sora. You weren't-"  
  
*flashback*  
  
He ran into the room, knowing already that he was too late.  
  
"Sora...where are you?"  
  
Bi was sitting curled up in the centre of the room, her feathers trembling as she cried. Matt crossed the floor and took Sora's hand in his, one more time. "Bi...I'm sorry..."  
  
The roof creaked ominously. "Get out!" yelled Izzy. "It's gonna collapse!"  
  
"I have to save- Sora-" sobbed Bi. "She- saved me-"  
  
Matt swallowed hard, snatched up the little bird and ran. A moment later the roof caved in.  
  
*end flashback*  
  
"You held my hand, Matt? Why?"  
  
"I..." He stops. "Anyway... You were- gone. Izzy and Joe agreed with me. There was no way..."  
  
He breaks off suddenly as Mimi carries Biyomon towards us. "I think she's all right now, Sora." I hold the little Digimon tight.   
  
"Hi, Bi. Long time no see. Isn't the sunset beautiful?"  
  
"Yeah," puts in Matt. "Almost a month of rain and now this."  
  
"I don't remember any rain..." I tell him. Suddenly he gasps.  
  
"Izzy! Come over here...."  
  
"I already guessed," the child genius grins. "I worked it out the same second you did. We're in Primary Village. I should have recognised it. Sora's been reloaded."  
  
Bi stares, open-beaked.   
  
"Reloaded?" stutters Joe. "But Sora's a human!"  
  
"Very glad to hear you've noticed," I grin, hugging Bi. I don't understand this any more than they do, but it's worked out. Isn't that what matters? "We can talk it over with Gennai sometime maybe. For now, I'd like to just watch the sunset."   
  
Matt breaks the silence with a light cough. "Sora, I want to ask something. If we ever end up somewhere there's a cinema...or something... Sora, will you-?"  
  
"Sure, Matt. I will. If I can bring Bi."  
  
Some things change. Like your friendship with someone of the opposite sex. And that can be a good thing. I take Matt's hand as we stare into the sunset. Life is beautiful when you're with the ones you love.  
  
Other things don't change. Like the link between a kid and her Digimon. And that's a good thing too.  
  
I stroke Bi's wing. Soon it'll be nighttime. But the sun's always going to rise.  
  
...............  
  
Daydreamer: Ta-daaaa!  
  
Bi: Wow.  
  
Daydreamer: I TOLD you I liked a happy ending.  
  
.............  
  
Thank you, people!! 


End file.
